BOSTON ~ FRAMINGHAM ~ ALBANY

A very busy day!  Boston before lunch, Framingham in the afternoon and Albany for our overnite.

This should have been 2 days, because we'd have loved to have had more time on these stops.

We came into Boston with the rain ... a tribute to our home state was what we claimed when we were chastised for bringing the rain in with us.

We caught them slightly off guard at Boston FD, but you'd never know it by the time we left.  These guys were crack ups ... and most of them were of the white shirt breed.  ( ;

We sat down with them as they had their lunch and shared stories and laughs.  And George "in the cage" really stepped up for us, making sure that we left with lots of beautiful new shirts for the Troops.  He also proudly shared his Troop pictures at his desk.  Love seeing true support!

This was one of the stops that was home town for wounded soldiers at Walter Reed who asked that we make sure their home town knew they were there and thinking of home.  We handed over the contact info and were assured they would take care of it.  We have every reason to believe Boston takes care of their own!

This stop really was too short and next time we will make sure we have extra time.  But on the plus side, turns out I will get to meet some of BFD Honor Guard at the Colorado Springs Memorial in September.  Will get more pix, we need another bad ass shot of these guys!

We will return to Boston!  And look forward to it!

Next stop was Framingham.  This was one I looked forward to for a long time.  I met Joe Mazzola last year at the memorial, and he promised that if we would visit Framingham they would really represent.  I remember thinking, uh-huh, suuuure.  But  was more than pleasantly surprised to be so wrong!

WOW!  FFD was amazing!  We expected to see the pipers, and thought that would be the big surprise when we arrived, but nooooo!  Joe out did himself!

We were met at the toll booth by the motorcycle escort that brought us in, as we came around a bend we noticed the National Guard Armory, and in the same glance it all hit us!  OMIGOD!

On our left were the pipers, including Tim Birr from Tualatin Valley, Oregon ... Who had been unable to play for us at the PackOut and promised he would play for us in the future.  And here he was in Mass!!!  Joe's smile as he piped told us he knew he had really pulled off a great welcome!

Two ladder trucks held the flag up for us, the firefighters, medics, police, soldiers, and families were all there to bring us in.  There was so much to take in, and the media covered it all.  We really enjoyed the enthusiasm of all, including a new cop friend who made a generous donation to the effort!  ( ;

Everyone was smiles and warmth, and this town we'd never visited before became a place to which we want to return!

We went inside to find even more, a great barbecue dinner and lots of fun.  These folks were really creative, and all you need do is look at the pix they set up for the Stunt Bear to see what I am referring to!  We has so much fun!

As if all of this were not enough, the Union chipped in and donated gas cards for us for the trip.  At the time of the tour gas was hovering around $3 a gallon and this was a great help!

We LOVED Framingham.  Joe, ya done good, buddy!  Will see you guys in Col Sprgs.  Can't wait.  THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH!!!

Framingham Fire escorted us out in classic style, and we kept those smiles for many miles ... In fact, just looking back as I write this i realize I have been smiling.  GREAT town, GREAT people!  (Did I mention that we really loved this stop?)

Next up was Albany, NY ...  This was a first time visit for us, and we would be staying overnite in the fire house.  Neither of us had been to Albany before, and were really impressed with the skyline as you drive in to town.  Very unique, very distinctive, and very pretty.  This is a town that we had very little prior knowledge of, but we both commented that it would be nice to see more of this one.

The guys at the station were a little quiet when we got there, but were great about helping us get settled.  Not sure that they had gotten much heads up and were likely a little uncertain that, hey, we're here ... and, we're staying here.  lol

In no time though, the van had been brought in from the dreary weather and secured in the bay.  It was a quiet stay for us, and a little respite from the road.

We had so many pictures by this time and had done sooooo much in such a short period since the Memorial Day weekend that there was just no way to catch up on the journal.  By this point we had kind of resigned ourselves to getting the photos up and going back, as I am now to fill in the story behind the photos.

This stop was really nice, there are some good cooks in this house, and they made sure we were taken care of.  They had shirts out and the police were coming by and signing them during the stay.  Because it was an overnite stop, we were able to meet two different shifts ... and that's always a plus for us.

By the time we got to the north east we had also come to the conclusion that the next tour would need to be longer.  At this point we have figured out that we will need to make it at least 6 weeks on the road.  Sounds like a long time, and it is.  But it is so sad to see some of these Heroes,and these home towns, so briefly.  When next we get to this part of the country we should have more time to see some of the beautiful/silly/fun things that the Troops think of when they think of their homes.  And we will be more able to set the visits up to cater to that for them.

Thank you all for your hospitality.  This was a wonderful day and a tough one to top!

SALUTE!

lj